After winning their second tournament game in over 50 years, Utah State basketball looks to keep momentum going but will have to do so with a fresh look
The tradition continues! CBB Review is again ranking the top 100 teams heading into the new college basketball season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Utah State basketball.
Since 2018, fewer teams have had more of a roller coaster of emotions than this Utah State program. Under Craig Smith, this team won 20 games in three straight seasons. After failing to reach 20 wins the previous five seasons, it looked like this program was becoming a powerhouse. Then, he left and took the Utah job. In comes Ryan Odom, who starts slow, but leads Utah State to 26 wins in his second season. Then, he left and took the VCU job.
Now, they hire Danny Sprinkle, who leads them to 27 wins and a Round of 32 appearance in the tournament. You guessed it, he left and took the Washington job. So, in comes Jerrod Calhoun, the former Youngstown State coach who looks to continue the trend of success with the Utah State basketball program. Hopefully, he sticks around and more than three years though for the sake of the fans.
It won’t be an easy transition, as they lose superstar Great Osobor, who joined his coach in Washington. It will be hard to replace his production, but they did a great job blending returning talent with transfer portal additions. The most notable returner is Ian Martinez, who was the second-leading scorer for the Aggies last year. They also return Mason Falslev, who averaged 11 a game last year.
Utah State basketball brings in six players who scored 10 or more for their respective teams last season, led by Deyton Albury, who averaged 17 a game last season. Utah State was one of the top-scoring programs last year, and that was a big reason for their success. So, bringing in high-level scoring players who can produce immediately will help alleviate the loss of Osobor.
The Mountain West is going through its best stretch as a conference in a long time, so it won’t be easy once again for Utah State to control the conference and make a tournament run. However, the talent is there, so don’t be surprised if this team is battling on top of the conference all season.
Click here to learn more about our preseason top 100 teams heading into the 2024-25 college basketball season.
Head coach: Jerrod Calhoun (1st season at Utah State, 13th season overall)
2023-24 record: 28-7 (14-4)
2024 postseason finish: NCAA Tournament Round of 32 Appearance
Notable departures:
- Great Osobor (17.7 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 2.8 APG)
- Darius Brown (12.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 6.5 APG)
- Josh Uduje (8.7 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 0.9 APG)
Notable non-conference games:
- Iowa (November 22nd)
- NIT Season Tip-Off (November 28-29th)
- South Florida (December 14th)
- Saint Mary’s (December 22nd)
Projected Rotation
PG: Deyton Albury (6-2, 190, Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 17.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.2 SPG, 48.2 FG%, 75 FT% (Queens)
SG: Ian Martinez (6-3, 185, Gr.-Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 13.3 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 47.4 FG%, 38.1 3P%, 85.6 FT%
SF: Mason Falslev (6-3, 203, So.)
2023-24 stats: 11.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.3 SPG, 56.2 FG%
PF: Tucker Anderson (6-9, 190, So.)
2023-24 stats: 14.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.9 SPG, 38.1 3P%, 81.3 FT% (Central Arkansas)
C: Isaac Johnson (7-0, 227, Jr.)
2023-24 stats: 6.6 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 0.8 APG, 0.5 BPG, 47.8 FG%, 34.2 3P%, 84.6 FT%
6: Dexter Akanno (6-5, 210, Gr.-Sr)
Utah State Basketball team MVP: Ian Martinez
Martinez always seems to step up when it matters. Against TCU in the first round of the tournament, Martinez scored 21 points to lead all scorers to secure the win for the Aggies. Even in the blowout loss to Purdue, Martinez played well, scoring 11 points while shooting 2-5 from deep. Martinez came to USU to get more opportunities, after starting just three games in the prior three seasons at Maryland and Utah, and not only was he given that but he fully capitalized.
Now, with Osobor gone, the keys are his, and they’re going to count on him to not only replicate his performance from last year but be even better. The way he does that is ride the momentum of his three point shooting at the end of last season. In his first 15 games of the season, he shot 16-47 (34%) In the final 19 games of the season, he shot 37-92 (40%) from deep. As you can see, not only did the shot attempts significantly increase, but so did the percentage. If he can consistently shoot somewhere between those two totals for the whole season, we may be looking at a. top 5 player in the Mountain West.
Martinez is also lights out from the line, shooting 85.6%. Defensively, he is not as minus, but it’s certainly not his strength. However, if he takes a leap like he did last season, then that can certainly change.
Utah State Basketball make-or-break player: Mason Falslev
As a freshman, Falslev was beyond impressive, averaging 11 a game and starting at 34. Falslev entered the portal when Coach Sprinkle went to Washington, but ultimately decided to stay with Utah State basketball, a huge win for the program. Like Martinez, Utah State basketball wants to see Falslev step up. They need to replace the production in some way, and he is the best bet to take Martinez’s role while Martinez takes Osobors.
Falslev was unbelievably efficient from the field, shooting 56% as a guard. According to EvanMiya’s data, he was one of the top 200 highest offensive performers last season. His three point shooting was only 30%, so that’s something he’ll need to improve.
He set the bar high as a freshman, so now the question is whether he can continue to build on it, or has he reached his peak. Utah State is in no way reliant on his success to be a good team, but if he can become a 13-15 point scorer on good efficiency, this team becomes even more dangerous.
Key analytic: Three Pointers Made Per Game
They say in modern basketball, being able to take and make a lot of threes is the key to success. That certainly wasn’t the case for this Utah State team, as they made just 6.3 a game, good for 278th in the country. What will be interesting is that Coach Calhoun is coming from a completely different situation, where his Youngstown State team made 8.6 a game, 58th in the country.
We talked about Martinez’s volume change toward the end of the season, and they also brought in Tucker Anderson, who made about 2 a game last year at Central Arkansas. If they’re not going to make threes, they’ll need a consistent force down low. Gateretse is certainly an option, as he shot 71% from the field last year, a jaw-dropping number. Pair that with Falselv’s efficient inside shooting, and Albury’s high-volume shooting, and we could see a repeat in success this season.
Utah State Basketball 2024-25 projections
Projected conference finish: 6th in Mountain West
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament Round of 32 Appearance